


among the evening

by spikeymarshmallows



Series: two boys emerging from shadowed hallways [10]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Domestic Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikeymarshmallows/pseuds/spikeymarshmallows
Summary: Diego came home to an empty apartment. It was starting to cool down outside, and he fiddled with the gas heater to take the bite out of the air inside. He didn't get as cold as easily as Klaus, and Klaus wouldn't be home, but it was habit, and it made him feel like Klausmightbe there and simply coming home late.*It's Diego's first birthday alone.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves
Series: two boys emerging from shadowed hallways [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695337
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	among the evening

**Author's Note:**

> OOPS. I SOMEHOW MADE THIS A TOUCH MORE BITTERSWEET THAN I INTENDED... 
> 
> Anyway. Um. Happy Birthday to the Hargreeves siblings! Y'all are a shining light in my life.
> 
> Rated T for a literal one sentence mention of sex.

Diego came home to an empty apartment. He set the keys in the bowl beside the door, flicked a few lights on. It was starting to cool down outside, and he fiddled with the gas heater to take the bite out of the air inside. He didn't get as cold as easily as Klaus, and Klaus wouldn't be home, but it was habit, and it made him feel like Klaus _might_ be there and simply coming home late.

He sorted through the mail, tossing most of it out. He needed to get started on dinner, but a part of him was tempted to order in.

It was too quiet in the apartment. He felt it more than he liked to admit, but it was particularly bad today.

He picked up a few CDs, studied their cases, trying to figure out what he was in the mood for, before setting them down again. He wasn't really in the mood for anything.

Christ, this was stupid. Why the fuck was he even bothered by this? It was just another day.

He'd never even celebrated his birthday before, not until he and Klaus had left the Academy. Hell, he hadn't even known a birthday was something worth celebrating until he'd started seeing it in the movies they snuck in when Father was away.

And for some unfathomable reason, now he cared. It mattered, and he felt strangely melancholy about something he tried not to care about.

Grimacing to himself, he almost guiltily grabbed the menus from off the top of the fridge, wiping the dust off of them.

He was just trying to decide if he wanted Indian or Thai when he heard a knock at the door. Unconsciously, he rested his hand on his belt, looking for a knife that wasn't there.

When he opened the door, there was a freckle-faced kid holding a box and some vibrantly coloured flowers.

"Uh, I think you have the wrong address," Diego said, not even bothering with pleasantries.

"Mister Diego Hargreeves?" the kid said, voice cracking with his adolescence.

"Yeah?" Diego said slowly, frowning in annoyance and confusion.

"It's a delivery from your husband!"

Diego blinked rapidly and only half present, he took the items from the kid.

"Uh, I don't have cash on m—"

"He took care of the tip, don't worry about it."

And then the kid was gone.

Diego closed the door behind him with one foot, paying more attention to what the fuck Klaus had had delivered, with no notice or warning.

There were flowers and some sparkling grape juice, as well as what smelled like Thai food. Tucked beside that was a small cake. His throat was tighter than he would have liked it to have been. His eyes burned.

God, he was pathetic.

His phone in his back pocket vibrated and he juggled the various items onto the kitchen counter.

_Call me when you're free!!!_

Diego swallowed and took a moment to compose himself before grabbing his laptop to Skype Klaus.

"Happy birthday!" Klaus said, answering within seconds.

Diego chuckled. "Happy birthday, again." He paused and frowned. "It's not our birthday where you are, right?"

"Nah," Klaus said with a shrug. "I figured we could extend the celebration though! Did everything arrive?" Klaus looked like he was trying to look over Diego's shoulder.

"Yeah, a few minutes ago," Diego said. "How'd you pull that off?"

"Oh, it was easy. Turns out you can hire people to run errands for you. So you've got dinner, and cake. The cake's Diego-friendly, by the way. I bet it tastes like shit. No refined sugar, gluten, dairy, or joy!"

Diego flipped him off.

"Well, chop chop, get set up!" Klaus said, clapping his hands together in demand.

"Set up?"

"Yes! We're having date night to celebrate our birthday."

Diego set himself up at the coffee table, sitting on the floor rather than on the couch. It just felt like something he'd do if Klaus were here.

"Isn't it, what? 5am? 6am there?"

"Yep!" Klaus was a little too enthused for someone that generally required a lot of force to get out of bed before 10am.

Diego stopped spooning himself out some green curry to look at Klaus. "Did you pull an all-nighter or have you consumed your weight in caffeine?"

"Why not both?" Klaus tittered.

Diego shook his head to himself.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Kinda. I got a few hours. But I was excited and didn't want to sleep past my alarm and have you feeling all sad even though you'd pretend you weren't because you pretend to only care about birthdays because you think I care deeply about them."

"Don't you?" Diego asked, surprised.

"I mean, I guess. I just like spending time with you. And you're so cute when you pretend that the birthday stuff is just for me but you always put in an effort because you think I care, and secretly you're really chuffed to be doing this normal thing and—" Klaus cut himself off, eyes going wide.

Diego's cheeks were on _fire_.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I wasn't meant to let that slip. I'm sorry, I've just had so much coffee and oh shit! You're going to bury yourself and I'm going to come home and you'll never look me in the eye again. I love birthdays! I do! But I think half my love of birthdays is because _you_ love it so much and—"

"Klaus, you're really not helping here," Diego managed to get out weakly.

"Sorry," Klaus said with a wince. "But. Happy birthday!" He threw his arms out dramatically before yawning. "Now, food time!"

Diego tilted his head at the camera, trying to figure out what Klaus might have.

"I have pancakes," Klaus announced smugly. "I mean, I could have reheated some Thai food so we were eating the same thing, but I had a craving for pancakes."

"So why'd you do this?" Diego asked, setting his bowl down after his second helping of curry. He sure hadn't expected it, and it wasn't a very Klaus-like thing to have planned something like this in advance.

Klaus shrugged. "I dunno. It's our first birthday apart. Like, _ever_. I felt kinda melancholy last night and figured we should still celebrate it even when I'm over the other side of the world." Klaus got distracted by some of the curls that were beginning to fall across his eyes, and he pulled one of them, smiling as it sprung easily back into place.

"The humidity here is fucking with my hair," Klaus sighed dramatically. "Thank god for shitty internet so you can't see it."

"I've seen you at your absolute worst, and I still think you're beautiful," Diego said without thinking, heart swooping at the horrible vulnerable feeling that came with it.

"Ew, gross. Feelings. You hate those," Klaus laughed, but it was good-natured. "You feeling okay, big guy?"

"I miss you," Diego admitted, once again surprising himself.

Klaus smiled sadly and the image over the screen distorted and Klaus went grainy and pixellated. Still, Diego was able to make out the "miss you too, 'ego". The image righted itself again. "I'm sorry I'm away so much," Klaus said, awkward and hesitant in a way that he typically only was when he was bringing up a kink he was _really_ into and _really_ ashamed of.

"It's okay," Diego said honestly. "I miss you like fucking crazy, but I'm glad you're happy."

Klaus smiled again; the webcam froze on it, and for a moment, Diego was treated to Klaus' smile, one where both his eyes were open, and the picture wasn't in one of those awkward expressions that came with being caught mid-expression.

"On the pro side, assuming everything goes to plan, I'll be home in time for Christmas."

"Are you going to tell me that you only care about Christmas because you think I do?"

"Oh no. I fucking _love_ Christmas. Did you know that it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere over Christmas? Can you imagine?" He shook his head. "Disgusting. What is Christmas if it isn't hot chocolate and riding your dick while wearing a Santa hat?"

"Oh come on now, I know you can still do both of those things when it's hot too."

Klaus batted his eyelashes and pulled an innocent expression, looking up at his metaphorical and invisible halo. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gasped. Before Diego could get out a protest, Klaus was sitting forward excitedly.

"We should go to Brazil for Christmas!"

"Uh—"

"You still haven't seen the ocean before. You've gotta and it's not like we don't have the money. We can lie in the sun and you can get a tan and you can help me apply sunscreen _everywhere_ so I don't burn to a crisp."

"I thought you just said that Christmas in the heat was disgusting," Diego teased. He didn't hate the idea. And Klaus was right; he still hadn't seen the ocean, whereas Klaus had on his various work trips.

"I've changed my mind! Let me see if I can pull a few strings. I think I've got a contacts in Brazil and we might be able to stay somewhere really fancy."

Even through the shitty internet connection, he could see that manic gleam in Klaus' eyes that meant there was little to no chance he'd let this drop. And christ, when had Diego _ever_ been able to deny Klaus?

It looked like he was going to be celebrating Christmas in Brazil.

Klaus broke from his wide-eyed reverie with a shake of the head. "Okay, cake time!!"

They sat on Skype until Klaus realised he was going to be late for his morning meeting and Diego was half-asleep. Diego was uncomfortably full from the dinner and the surprisingly good cake. Once he closed the laptop, and set it on the nightstand, he pulled Klaus' pillow from the other side of the bed and curled around it.

He knew Klaus always cuddled a pillow when he was on his work trips, saw it when they stayed on Skype until Klaus fell asleep by the blue light of the computer. Diego did the same, but he didn't want Klaus to know that. Klaus already got homesick enough, and if he knew just how much Diego missed him, he had no doubt Klaus would do something stupid like try to make a twenty-hour flight each way whenever he could.

Still, for all that it was his first birthday alone, it hadn't ended up too bad. They'd even managed some birthday sex, even if it was from a distance.

He sat up, looking around the bedroom as if there might be some cameras hidden away to see him in his moment of secret vulnerability. He shook his head to himself and then reached over and grabbed Klaus' stuffed tiger from Klaus' nightstand.

It was his birthday. Diego figured he was allowed this, just for tonight. He could consider it a birthday present to himself.

By some miracle, there was still the lingering scent of Klaus' coconut hair products on it, and the smell calmed something in Diego that he hadn't even known needed soothing.

With the smell of Klaus beside him, Diego was finally able to fall asleep, his chest warm and full.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Go get some cake--you definitely deserve it!!


End file.
